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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26690356">"Are we on a date right now?"</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwieldyink/pseuds/unwieldyink'>unwieldyink</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dialogue prompts, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:21:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26690356</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwieldyink/pseuds/unwieldyink</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Camp Half-Blood really was beautiful in the summer. Nestled in its valley, the whole place was brought to life by kids sitting on the grass, walking and talking, laughing and shouting. The strawberry fields, fully in bloom, blanketed the far half of camp, and the humid summer air was thick with cicadas kicking up their symphonies as the sky turned golden. Looking at it like this, Will felt the same way he did the very first time he'd climbed Half-Blood Hill.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nico di Angelo/Will Solace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>123</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>"Are we on a date right now?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Requested by my lovely friend sara @motivatedcryptidtamer on tumblr!! i'm doing more dialogue prompt requests on tumblr so feel free to pop over there if you feel like making a request!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Will, as usual, was overworked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Summer always brought more kids to Camp Half-Blood, and with them came more injuries. July, for Will, meant a bustling infirmary, with demigods clutching their wounds and children of Apollo scrambling for ambrosia.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This summer was a lot like most of the ones Will had gone through in camp-- as in, a season of sunshine and long working days. But there was one notable difference this year. Nico di Angelo, Will's new best friend and not-so-secret crush, had started helping out in the infirmary from time to time. Nico was a busy guy, so he only ever worked for an hour or two a day, but it was enough to change the entire shape of Will's days as he watched the door for Nico's arrival. Even now, Nico was helping out in the infirmary, pressing gauze tightly down on a bloody wound and speaking quietly to a panicked patient.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will rummaged around in a drawer, searching for the flat package of ambrosia they kept hidden under piles of gauze and band aids, to keep it safe from sticky fingers. Camp Half-Blood was usually a pretty community oriented place, but some things were every man for himself, and nearly every camper had a private ambrosia stash hidden somewhere. You never knew when you might need it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, Will found it, narrowly avoiding poking himself on a loose syringe in the drawer as he pulled it out. He frowned. Syringes, if unused, were supposed to stay in the packaging, and if used, were supposed to go in the trash. He’d have to have another talk with the rest of the infirmary workers about equipment management.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will turned away from the drawer, ready to march back over to Nico and the Athena kid he was leaning over. But as he passed the open window, the salty smell from the nearby beach drifted in, stopping him in his tracks. He watched as someone playing volleyball in the court outside the big house slipped and fell face first into the sand, their teammates doubling over in laughter around them. Will was always glad the infirmary was air conditioned, but when a burst of muggy summer heat hit him from that window, it didn't feel oppressive. Instead, it felt like a warm blanket, beckoning him outside, to sink his feet into the hot sand of the volleyball court or go for a dip in the Long Island Sound. He'd even tolerate the heat and the bugs, if only he got a chance to walk through the trees or sit in the sunshine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Will!" Nico's voice pulled him out of his daydreams and back into the infirmary. "Come on, we need that ambrosia over here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will shook his head, clearing away his thoughts. “Sorry,” he mumbled, pulling the ambrosia out of the package as he walked over. Nico raised his eyebrow at Will, but didn’t say anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will held the square of ambrosia to the son of Athena’s lips. “Here. Medicine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy gulped it down quickly. Will didn’t know his name, so he must have been new here. “Hey, I don’t know you. Are you new?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy tried his best at a shrug. “I’ve been here for nearly a month and a half. This is the first time I’ve gotten hurt, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will nodded. “Well, that would be why I haven’t run into you, then. Most campers end up here a lot more often than that. What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cleo,” The boy said timidly. Will brought his attention down to his wound. The skin had healed up, but when Will pressed down on it, Cleo winced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’ll be sore for a bit. You probably shouldn’t do much fighting for the next few days… maybe sit out of capture the flag this week. But you’ll be right as rain in no time, promise.” Will offered him a smile. “We can send you home with some Advil or Tylenol if you’re worried about the pain, but it should fade fairly quickly. What do you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, maybe some Tylenol would be nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico seized a bottle off the counter before Will could even move, and tossed it to Cleo. The son of Athena gingerly swung his legs sideways to sit up, a hand hovering over the site of his former wound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will helped him to his feet. He stumbled once, but then managed to find his balance. “Thanks,” Cleo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will grinned. “Hey, just doing my job.” He glanced up as Kayla walked through the door. “Oh, speaking of, looks like my shift’s over. Go talk to Kayla and she’ll make sure you’re good to go, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cleo nodded. Kayla raised her eyebrows at Will. “Is he okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should be. Stab wound, fairly routine. Gave him some ambrosia. I’m sending him home with some Tylenol, too, just in case, but he might not need it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kayla nodded. “Okay, I got this. Have fun in the supply rooms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will hummed in agreement. When he said </span>
  <em>
    <span>My shift is over</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he didn’t mean he’d be able to leave the infirmary. The kids who worked at the infirmary had rotating shifts-- his healing shift was done, but now it was time to go to the back and start sorting boxes of supplies. It seemed like for every box they sorted, two more spawned out of nowhere. They’d never make it through the walls and walls of boxes crowding the storage room… but they would try. Will started walking toward the door, but paused when he realized Nico wasn’t following. “Nico, are you coming?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed like Will had snapped Nico out of a daydream, because he looked kind of surprised. “Oh. Uh, yeah.” His eyebrows were still knitted together, but he followed Will out of the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will was about to make a beeline for the storage room, but as soon as the door closed behind them, Nico caught Will by the elbow. “Hey,” he said. “Is everything okay with you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will flashed him a smile. "Yeah. I'm fine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you sure?" Nico's eyebrows knitted together. "You don't usually get distracted like that. Staring out the window, I mean. When a patient is bleeding."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, it's-- it's nothing. I'm just a little stir crazy, that's all." Will shouldered the bag in his hands and started walking towards the supply closet. Nico followed a step behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stir crazy? What do you mean?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just..." They passed another open window, and the breeze fluttered the white curtains romantically. Will sighed. "I love summer. Or I used to, anyways. But now my summers are just full of work. I miss being able to chill outside, play volleyball or... or just sit in the sun. I dunno."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By now, they had reached the supply closet, and Will slipped inside, unpacking the bag on his shoulder. Nico hung back in the doorway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, you have a free hour tonight, don't you?" Nico asked. "You could take a walk outside then."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, I guess." Will zipped up the bag. "But it's not really the same when you're not hanging out with someone. Y'know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico paused for a second. "I could go with you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will squinted at him. "Don't you have archery practice that hour?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eh, I can skip it," Nico said with a shrug. "I mean, it's just archery. It's not like it's useful or anything." The corner of his mouth quipped up. It was a running joke between the two of them to make fun of their respective fathers' areas of expertise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will scowled at him. "You're the worst."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The half smile stayed on Nico's face. "No, but really. I'll just tell Chiron that I was busy with underworld business or something."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, underworld business." Will picked up a bent arrow Kayla left on the table. "Whatever would you do without that classic excuse?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A lot more of what I'm supposed to do, probably."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will grinned. "Alright, alright. Meet you at six in front of my cabin, then. Don't be late."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico's eyes were bright. "See you then."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico was late.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will didn’t know why he was surprised, honestly. Nico was never on time for anything-- he always claimed he got caught up with “Underworld Business”, but Will knew he actually was late because of a call with Hazel that went on too long, or because he got too into a show he was watching, or maybe because he just plain forgot. To be honest, he found the trait more endearing than annoying. It didn’t make waiting outside in the heat any more bearable, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently this time, though, Nico wasn’t just stuck with his head buried in a game or a phone call, because when Will made it to Nico’s cabin door to tell him to hurry up, no one answered him. He was just about to walk back to the Apollo cabin to see if maybe he’d passed Nico without noticing, when he spotted Nico jogging toward him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico’s face was red, and his forehead glistened with sweat. When he stopped at the front of his cabin, he had to take a minute to catch his breath before he could speak. “Sorry,” he finally gasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… okay. Do you need some water, or something?” Nico shook his head, panting as his face slowly returned to its normal color. “What were you doing?” Will asked, looking behind Nico to the direction he’d run from. Forested hills crowded the edge of Camp. What was Nico doing up there?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Scouting,” Nico said. He wiped his forehead, and he seemed to have finally regained his breath. But the effects of his run hadn’t totally worn off. His cheeks glowed a healthy pink, his hair was tousled, and his eyes shone excitedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will’s heart skipped half a beat. Post-exercise glow definitely looked good on Nico.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Scouting?” Will asked, trying to pull his attention off Nico’s appearance and back onto his words. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For our walk,” Nico said. “I looked around for the best place to go. And I found it! But I, uh, didn’t realize it would take so long to get back… sorry again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it. I expect it from you.” Will elbowed Nico playfully. “Where is this place, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile flickered over Nico’s face for half a second. “Follow me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And just like that, before Will had time to ask any more questions, they were off, climbing a path on a hill that wove between trees and rocks. Whenever Will tried to ask where, exactly, they were going, Nico brushed him off, saying something like “It’s not that far,” or “Just a few more minutes”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, they stopped on a cliffside that lined the path, and Will couldn't help the grin that pulled at his face. Camp Half-Blood really was beautiful in the summer. Nestled in its valley, the whole place was brought to life by kids sitting on the grass, walking and talking, laughing and shouting. The strawberry fields, fully in bloom, blanketed the far half of camp, and the humid summer air was thick with cicadas kicking up their symphonies as the sky turned golden. Looking at it like this, Will felt the same way he did the very first time he'd climbed Half-Blood Hill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hairs on the back of Will's neck suddenly stood up with the feeling of someone watching him, and he turned to see Nico's dark eyes fixed on his face. He tried for a warm smile, but Nico turned away quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Um, anyways," Nico said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "We're not there yet. We should keep going." He continued climbing the hill without looking behind him to see if Will was following. Will had to jog a couple paces to catch up with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There’ve been plenty of beautiful places along this path to stop and sit for a minute," Will said as his steps fell into time with Nico's. "If wherever you're taking me beats all of them, then it must be something special."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico just shrugged. As forthcoming as ever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the walk was silent, but Will didn't mind. He really had missed being able to go out and about at camp. Nico's pace sped up more and more the higher they climbed, and Will noticed him start to twist his silver ring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, Nico stopped, and Will saw what he had been anticipating the whole time. A blue gingham blanket was spread out on the grass, a medium sized black bag sitting in the middle of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ta-da," Nico said monotonously. Despite his unenthusiastic tone, he was studying Will's reaction closely, clearly invested in what Will thought of the picnic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will laughed a little. "This is what you were leading me to? Aw, Nico, this is so..." He shook his head. "Did you hike all the way up here earlier to set this up?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah. It’s what I was running back from." Nico sat down on the blanket. Will followed suit, taking the opposite side of the blanket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico opened the bag and started emptying its contents, and Will felt his eyes just about bug out of his head. From the bag, Nico produced tons of snacks-- Dr. Pepper, Fritos, Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies, and Hershey's kisses. All of Will's favorite junk foods that he stocked up on at home-- and also, all contraband substances at camp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How did you get all this?" Will asked, picking up one of the Oatmeal Creme Pies and staring at it in amazement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico's expression didn't change, but when he glanced up at Will, his eyes glinted mischievously. "I have my sources."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will's lips twitched up into a smile. "You've been cashing in favors with the Stolls again, haven't you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Maybe."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back before the Giant War, when Nico could still shadow travel as much as he wanted without it taking a toll on his health, Nico had become the Stolls' right hand man in their smuggling operation. Not a day went by without Nico popping out of the shadows by the Hermes cabin, arms full of junk food and sodas and whatever else the Stolls asked for. Nico's shadow travel abilities had been all but out of commission since the Giant war, used only in extreme emergencies, so who knew how the Stolls were getting their goods smuggled in now. No matter the method, Nico had years worth of backlogged favors with the Stolls. Anything they brought into camp, he was welcome to take.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will stared at the spread of junk food in front of him-- all specifically </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> favorite things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How... how did you know these are my favorites?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico shrugged again. "You've mentioned them all at least once."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And you... remembered?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was hard to tell in the golden light of the sunset, but Nico's cheeks definitely darkened. "Um. Yeah?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will stared at Nico’s pink cheeks, and suddenly, it clicked. Will's mind flipped through the events of the past half hour over again, but they painted a completely new picture now. The long, scenic walk, the way Nico had been staring at him earlier-- and the way he turned away when Will caught him, as if to hide his face. As if to hide his blush. The way he'd taken so much care to pack all the things Will didn't even remember mentioning that he missed, how he trekked all the way up here once before to set it up. Even this spot Nico had chosen-- close enough to see all of camp, but secluded enough to be safe from the gazes of their gossiping peers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nico..." Will trailed off, at a loss for words, as Nico looked up at him. The sunset created a ring of gold around his dark hair. "Are-- are we on a date right now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico's cheeks darkened again, but this time, he blushed all the way to his ears. His eyes darted away from Will's gaze. "I mean..." He fiddled absentmindedly with the black bag, pulling the zipper back and forth. "Do you... want us to be?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Some weird brand of happiness squeezed Will's throat, pushing his face into a grin so wide he thought it might fall off his face. "Yes," Will said plainly. He laughed. "Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span> I want this to be a date! You're so-- I can't even--" He shook his head as a ginger smile spread across Nico's face. "This is so cute," Will said. "And you're so cute for doing it. You know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I--" Nico's brows furrowed, and he cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know if </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute</span>
  </em>
  <span>--"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will laughed again. "No, no, don't even try to deny it. If you do cute things, you're a cute person. And this whole picnic operation you've set up here, Mister Lord Of Darkness, is adorable."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico gave a small smile as Will scooted over to sit next to him. "Well... I'm glad you like it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I do." Will held Nico's gaze for two long heartbeats. "Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Will turned his attention back to the picnic. "Now c'mon, let's dig in. Chiron will only buy 'underworld business' for so long, and if we get caught with all this stuff, we'll both be stuck doing extra chores for weeks."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hi guys!! this fic was recently nominated for the solangelo fic awards in the best fluff category! it would mean a lot to me if you voted for me! the link is here: https://solange-lol.tumblr.com/post/641955952462118912/<br/>thanks!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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